1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of injection or compression molding (collectively referred to as pressure molding) of workpieces such as hollow plastic articles and formation of hollow blow molded articles therefrom and, more particularly, to a stripping station for stripping finished articles from pallets and transferring the finished articles to a discharge station.
2. Description of the Related Art
A system for preparing and conveying pressure molded plastic articles, or workpieces, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,793,960 to Schad et al and assigned to the assignee of the present invention. The '960 patent discloses a process wherein parisons are carried on pallets between various treatment stations. Pallets on which these parisons are transported are recycled in a continuous manner by conveying the pallets on a continuous belt wherein parisons are disposed on the pallets, transferred to a subsequent station for the formation of blow molded hollow articles, and the hollow articles are removed or stripped from the pallets, at which point the pallets return on the continuous belt to receive a new batch of parisons.
The present invention is drawn to the method by which workpieces or parisons, or preferably the blow molded hollow articles, are stripped from the pallets.
According to the prior art, articles are stripped from the pallets through suction or vacuum. Such a procedure is also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,522,581 to Schad et al, also assigned to the assignee of the present invention. Methods involving the application of suction or a vacuum, however, prove difficult to carry out and require expensive locating means to place articles into guide tubes through which suction or vacuum is applied.
Attempts have been made to improve upon this stripping method by mechanically grasping workpieces with a pair of arms and stripping the workpieces from the pallets. Such attempts are generally unsuccessful, however, because the workpieces tend to stick to one of the arms, thus preventing the discharge of workpieces from the arms.
The principal object of the present invention is, therefore, to provide a stripping station for hollow blow molded articles wherein the articles can be stripped from a holding means, such as pallets, without sticking.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a stripping station which is simple, reliable and efficient in operation.
Other objects and advantages Will become apparent to one skilled in the art upon a consideration of the following disclosure.